Did you ever have a partner in Medic school you despized?

[Kaisu]

I'll disagree with the idea that you should have to be an EMT [b or I] before paramedic school. Medical school, for example, doesn't require you to be trained in a health care field prior to starting, why should paramedicine have such a requirement?

Medical school requires you to have an undergraduate degree with prerequisites in chemisty, biology, etc. etc. Personally, I think paramedic school should have a minumum of 1 year anatomy and physiology before you get in. I don't think that EMT-B is enough as a prerequisite but at least its something.

[DwayneEMTP]

Can you actually get into medic school with basic only?

That would suck big time...A year, or perhaps at minimum, two semesters of A&P would be great..

Of course you'd have at least a year by the time you had the prereqs for those classes....

Well....

Ok...as becksdad once said...never mind. I'm not sure what my point was...

Dwayne

[RescuePro33]

Im sorry for my Grammar and im sorry i offended anybody with what i said, i should have gave my topic a little more thought before i posted it.

The school im going to is a 18 month medical/business school program that makes everyone take the same course work as everyone one else in the program.

The first Semester consist of EMT 1 and 2 and a Gen Ed class, so it doesn't matter if your a EMT or not they still make you take the EMT basic classes.

So like i said before there are 2 active EMTs in my class of 11 and me and him are bored out of our minds with this class, thats why we wanted to be partners from the start so we can branch off and start to work on the class work for our up coming Paramedic 1 classes in December but instead we are stuck Babysitting people that have no experience what so ever, now don't get me wrong i will help anyone to a extent but when the newbies expect us 2 guys to carry them through class thats when it started to get old real quick.

Now on to the girl i told yall about, I didn't mean to come off like the way i did, its just a lot of drama went down the day i started this post and i was very annoyed with the situation. The number one reason I don't want to be put with the girl is she made the comment "If I fail im going to make sure you fail" and i thought that wouldn't be possible but then our instructor said that on hands on test, me and my partner will be graded as one person which i think is the most retarded thing ever.

Theres one more fact i want to make known, medic school is expensive, nearly $15,000 dollars and i was stuck if no-mans land where i make to much for fin aid but my credits not good enough for a private loan so im paying for everything out of pocket semester by semester and this may sound conceited but right know my only concern is me.

In closing i want to say one more thing, of the last 2 classes before mine the drop-out rate has been rather large and its not the school who's kicking these people out. its people leaving on there own because the course work is to difficult or the instructors our mean to them by quizzing them all the time so of the last class of 12 only 4 choose to stay enrolled in the medic classes and our instructors for see the same thing happening to our class, and thats another reason I wanted the partner I have now, we both ran together outside of streets with neighboring fire depts and we have been planing to go to medic school for quite awhile, so while we were waiting to get enough money to attended, we practiced our skills and had a few medics in our class tutor us with what we will need to know to excel in class, so I know that he is in it for the long haul and wont drop out on me and thats the type of people i want to associate myself with for the next 17 months,

i hope this sheds some light on what i was trying to say earlier

[Just Plain Ruff]

ok that makes it a little more clear but this school sounds like it's a flustercluck from the get go.

By the way, if I can get a student loan you can. My credit score during school was dismal and as long as you have not defaulted on a previous student loan then you are pretty much guaranteed the loan.

Is this school accredited? If so then you are entitled to student loans.

Go to your bank and talk to them. They can point you in the right direction or better yet go here

http://www.finaid.org/loans/educationlenders.phtml

or here

http://www.estudentloan.com/

If your school accepts government financial aid then your school will accept student loans from Citibank and Wachovia and ACS.

If they don't accept those loans then get the loan yourself and then pay the school.

If my credit score can get a student loan then your's can too.

You just have to do your homework. Most student loans are not based on grade point average. You have to specify the loan is for education and not a personal loan which I suspect might have happened.

As for your little prima donna girl in your class. If she indeed said that then I agree with you I'd have dropped her like a hot potato. Sounds like this girl is from the school of "coddle me to graduation". She probably has been told that she can be anything she wants if she just puts her mind to it. Thats a load of bullcrap.

I like the statement you say about the instructors being mean to the students by quizzing them all the time therefore making them drop out. That's classic.

If they didn't like the quizzes then they definately would not like the classes I used to teach. There was a quiz every night in class as well as pop quizzes throughout the week. I guess I would be considered mean.

Good luck to you my friend, it sounds like with this program you might need it.

[8-bit]

I had a partner...

Halfway through my class she decided she was scared of blood and quit.

[Oh well, she couldn't tube a dummy if her... well the dummies life depended on it.]

[FormerEMSLT297]

During medic school, I got paired up with a person, who could not start an IV if their life depended on it.

I have veins that will easily accomodate 14g needles, and this person could not get a 20 into me.

Talk about pain.... but, as someone else said, learn to deal with it... you will have partners that test you.

to quote "these are the times that try mens souls."

[Mateo_1387]

When I take a class, I pay my money to get an education, not be a resource for other students that don't share my near freakish need to get good grades. I do absolutely agree that teaching is the best way to learn, but that implies that the person you're teaching is motivated to learn and excel. If not? I don't have the time to carry them.

I agree that you should not be a crutch for another student to pull them through. At the same time, I think that working in groups (or with a partner) is a fine idea in Medic school. Especially if you are paired as one weak one strong student. Let me explain why.

One day in EMS, your job will be to teach someone. Be it a student that comes and rides for a few days, a new employee, an observer, or whoever, the point is that you will be in charge of guiding them during that time. By being exposed to it in class you can already start to get a feel for it in the field.

In just about any college class these days, you are expected to work in groups. The reason for that is that they are giving you a feel for what employment is like. You will be required to work with other people, and you should start to get exposed to it while receiving your education.

Its these experiences that help prepare you for the "teaching"/ working parts of the EMS field (or any field for that matter). That is also why I feel a methodology course should be required for medics, along with all the other hardcore classes that everyone feels should be required for a Medic degree.

A question for the OP, what kind of work are you and your partner required to do?

Dwayne, while I absolutely do not think you should have to "carry" anyone, I do think that you should have dynamics in your group. Not everyone is as "freakish" as you are about getting the grade. That does not mean they lack the aptitude to contribute in a positive way to the group.

Later folks !

Matt

[DwayneEMTP]

When I take a class, I pay my money to get an education, not be a resource for other students that don't share my near freakish need to get good grades. I do absolutely agree that teaching is the best way to learn, but that implies that the person you're teaching is motivated to learn and excel. If not? I don't have the time to carry them.

I agree that you should not be a crutch for another student to pull them through. At the same time, I think that working in groups (or with a partner) is a fine idea in Medic school. Especially if you are paired as one weak one strong student. Let me explain why.

One day in EMS, your job will be to teach someone. Be it a student that comes and rides for a few days, a new employee, an observer, or whoever, the point is that you will be in charge of guiding them during that time. By being exposed to it in class you can already start to get a feel for it in the field.

I see your point here Matty, but disagree. The situation you're mentioning is mentoring. It's a different ballgame than sharing tasks in school. First off, as a mentor, I've reached at least a minimum standard in my profession, there isn't the opportunity for the student or new hire to retard my development. They can learn from me, and I can certainly learn from them, but they aren't in a position at this point to hinder my education of the important core elements of the profession.

Also, a student riding with me assumes that I have at least minimal authority to control their behavior. That is lacking in the classroom.

There were a couple of times that I was paired with someone much stronger than myself academically. They simply left me behind and completed their assignments without me...as they should have. One of the girls was attempting to get into nursing. She and I paired up to study during Bio 201 and were always about 0.5% apart on our test scores...and well ahead of the next closest person in the class. During Bio 202 I was working 60+ hours a week and falling behind in my studies, she was carrying Bi0 202, Micro, and Chemistry, I think, 4.0 throughout as always. Even with her heavier class load, I couldn't keep up...so she left me behind.

Was I a slacker? Kind of, academically, even though I had the highest score in class behind her. Could she have spent more time and helped me improve my grade? Sure. To my gain, but very much to her detriment. She was at least as driven as I was/am...she has a family and a career to plan, and rightly kept her priorities there instead of allowing them to shift to me. Others thought she was kind of shitty for doing it...yet she and I remain great friends to this day as she made the only decision that seemed responsible to me. I would have been disappointed had she taken her eye off the ball to "save" me. She has a responsibility to herself, her family and her chosen career to excel. If helping me reinforces that goal, outstanding! If not, she is irresponsible to choose to do so.

In just about any college class these days, you are expected to work in groups. The reason for that is that they are giving you a feel for what employment is like. You will be required to work with other people, and you should start to get exposed to it while receiving your education.

Its these experiences that help prepare you for the "teaching"/ working parts of the EMS field (or any field for that matter)

I agree that this is an important skill, but should be taught separately, not tied to my academic success. If you pass up the opportunity to educate a motivated classmate then you’ve missed a golden opportunity to thoroughly explore your subject matter. Being forced to dedicated your motivated mental energy to an unmotivated slug only teaches you to be resentful and discouraged.

Dwayne, while I absolutely do not think you should have to "carry" anyone, I do think that you should have dynamics in your group. Not everyone is as "freakish" as you are about getting the grade. That does not mean they lack the aptitude to contribute in a positive way to the group.

Outstanding point! But I think we’re mostly discussing those that have no desire to add that dynamic. But I love the way you’ve thought around the corners of this subject. Thanks for sharing it.

Dwayne

Edited to clean up the formatting.

[Mateo_1387]

The situation you're mentioning is mentoring. It's a different ballgame than sharing tasks in school.

In my experience it has been the other way around. Quite often the paramedic is put in a situation of teaching. Students have questions that they expect the paramedic to be able to help them with. Also while doing patient care and afterwards the paramedic must be able to teach them why certain things were done, what presentation the patient gave, and yada yada. As for new employees they often times must be taught the ways of their new system. Not only should they tell them this is how its done, they must also explain to them why its done. They are in this case (and in my opinion) teaching. To me its more than monkey see monkey do.

Also, a student riding with me assumes that I have at least minimal authority to control their behavior. That is lacking in the classroom.

I do not follow you on this one.

I agree that this is an important skill, but should be taught separately, not tied to my academic success.

Where should it be taught? I agree that it should not be tied to your academic success. If someone does not want to contribute, then do not worry about them.

Later folks !

Matt

[Eydawn]

I've never found it to be to my detriment to walk an idiot through an assignment with me. Actually, I find it quite enlightening because I have to *figure out* how to teach it to someone else... which means I have to understand what I'm doing. If I teach it, I remember it better...

Wendy

CO EMT-B